Apple's new iPad isn't just a new product for consumers; the company is targeting the new device at business users with features designed to make it attractive to the enterprise market, AppleInsider has learned.

Apple has long had a business sales group ready to sell Macs to any interested companies, and with the release of iPhone 2.0, the Cupertino-based company made it very clear that it wanted the iPhone to fit the needs of corporate users.

That has helped stoke a healthy interest in the iPhone platform among companies who develop custom mobile software. Apple hardened the iPhone's security profile, added Exchange support, and created mass configuration and deployment tools for the device.

For the iPad, those same corporate-friendly iPhone features will all continue to work, thanks to the iPad being build on the same software foundation. However, the iPad adds a variety of new things that business users should find very attractive.

iPad in the Enterprise

For starters, Apple has ported over iWork, its Office-compatible productivity suite, while giving it a multitouch makeover. Aligned with the idea of using the iPad as a Keynote presentation tool, the iPad now supports VGA output for driving a projector directly. Users can markup slides and point with a virtual laser pointer as the presentation continues.

Sources who talked to Apple's business unit also say the company is working on some additional features that haven't been publicly announced yet. These include support for direct network printing from iPad apps, as well as support for accessing shared files from a local file server.

The iPhone can already access files in users' mailboxes or stored on web servers; using Apple's free iDisk app, it can also access files from the WebDAV-based MobileMe cloud file server. The company is said to be creating a similar app to access standard local file shares within an office setting, which would be a rather trivial undertaking given the iPhone OS' existing savvy with reading iWork, Office, PDF, and other common file types.

The iWork apps Apple demonstrated each load their documents without needing a conventional file browser. Just like the iPhone's existing Photos, Notes, and iTunes apps, their documents are managed by the app itself, rather than being strewn around a filesystem for users to organize on their own. The iPad will sync documents with iTunes just like the iPhone currently does, in addition to accessing cloud, web, and local file shares.

Google plans to implement a similar app-centric method for working with files on its forthcoming Chrome OS operating environment for netbooks, rather than defaulting to a 1980s style "look for your files on your drive" interface that Macs and PCs have used since the dawn of computing.

Watch the iPad cold boot in under 15 seconds

iPhone in the Enterprise

Unlike Google's overlapping Android and Chrome OS initiatives, Apple has a unified operating system strategy that scales from the iPhone to the iPod touch to the iPad, and it enjoys a clear head-start in both apps and in Enterprise sales. By the end of 2009, Apple was estimated to have sold 2 million iPhones to corporate accounts, giving the company a 7% share of the enterprise smartphone market. Another five million iPhones were estimated to be in mixed business use by individuals.

In its most recent earnings report earlier this week, Apple noted that the iPhone was ranked #1 in satisfaction by JD Power and Associates for second year in a row, and was rapidly growing in the enterprise, with 70% of the Fortune 100 companies in the US now actively piloting or deploying it. Internationally, Apple's COO Tim Cook said about half of the Financial Times 100 companies are doing the same.

Asked by a Goldman Sachs analyst about what the company was doing to drive higher corporate growth, Cook answered, "We've done a tremendous amount on the product side itself, implementing tons of features in the latest OS for iPhone that our enterprise customers had desired."

The 'Pad is a toy. It is not suited for heavy-duty use. I think that emphasizing business use is a huge mistake. I was very surprised when iWork was emphasized, given that the device has dodgy input and output, and no ability to multitask.

Microsoft Office inside is what is needed. Compatible with Mac, of course. And starting with PowerPoint for presentations. The standard is PowerPoint, not Keynote, even being the latter much better and intuitive that the former. Those are the real facts!

The 'Pad is a toy. It is not suited for heavy-duty use. I think that emphasizing business use is a huge mistake. I was very surprised when iWork was emphasized, given that the device has dodgy input and output, and no ability to multitask.

Microsoft Office inside is what is needed. Compatible with Mac, of course. And starting with PowerPoint for presentations. The standard is PowerPoint, not Keynote, even being the former much better and intuitive that the latter. Those are the real facts!

I'm curious as to how it matters?

You've got keynote on your iPad, and just hook it right to the projector ... so ...

edit: unless you mean you are wanting to work collaboratively with people who only use Powerpoint, which I suppose is a good reason.

The 'Pad is a toy. It is not suited for heavy-duty use. I think that emphasizing business use is a huge mistake. I was very surprised when iWork was emphasized, given that the device has dodgy input and output, and no ability to multitask.

Perhaps you should give us your list of accomplishments and expertise that we can better accept your predications.

I would suggest that anybody that is as learned as you profess to be would be more open and less dogmatic as you are. Your tirades against everything that is printed in a positive light about Apple, Jobs or its/his products is so demeaning that one has to wonder if you are as knowledgeable as you profess to be. An asshole, yes. A mentor, no. IMO.

I am beginning to change my mind what the 'i' in 'iGenius' stands for. And it is not flattering.

Microsoft Office inside is what is needed. Compatible with Mac, of course. And starting with PowerPoint for presentations. The standard is PowerPoint, not Keynote, even being the former much better and intuitive that the latter. Those are the real facts!

LOL, So powerpoint is the market leader by volume of sales, and therefore must always be the de-facto standard? Irrespective of the fact that it's not as powerful as keynote, doesn't look as good as is less intuitive to learn/use?

There's a way to invoke progress. Apple sell 10 million of these a year, with iWork pre-installed (drop the price tag apple!) and we'll see what the future brings. Competition is good. Keynote will output to a half dozen formats (including flash, LMAO) and open powerpoint presentations. I think somehow, this is a major advantage.

The 'Pad is a toy. It is not suited for heavy-duty use. I think that emphasizing business use is a huge mistake. I was very surprised when iWork was emphasized, given that the device has dodgy input and output, and no ability to multitask.

I can see many obvious business uses for this device as a complementary tool - not one to replace the laptop/desktop model. I don't believe apple are suggesting that this is anything more than a toy for the corporate market place as it can be in a domestic setting. As an email reader, web browser and to run presentations on, it's a fantastic toy.

This thing has wireless network, 3G, blue tooth, it has USB and SD card adapters - what's dodgy about this level of input and output? Add to that a nice version of tomtom and the assisted GPS:

Can't access Active-X or Sharepoint properly from corporate world. Yeah yeah I know, but the reality is 90% of business uses Windows and their idiotic monopolistic browser locking technologies.

I'm able to vpn and access our sharepoint just fine from the iPhone. I can't author any publishing pages due to the controls, but I can view sites, create list items, download files... The navigation works just fine. Search works. That covers the majority of use since there are very few people who author publishing pages on our deployment.

If the browser is the same, just bigger and better, then I think it will work just ok with sharepoint for most.

Yeah? What vision? Its easy to throw out open ended maxims. Can you give examples of the vision that eludes me?

Maybe I can try - the vision to be able to hold something in your hand that has a useful screen size which can easily be taken into meetings to make notes, to check email, to connect to a projector, to look up reference material and to have a working day battery life, while being light enough to be carried in your standard briefcase without having to lug around a second case for your laptop all day.

The vision to take a small device into any office and quickly pair with a blue tooth keyboard (and I suspect also a bluetooth enabled printer) to get some simple email typed, if the on screen keyboard isn't to your taste.

The vision that all of this is costing only $10 more than a kindle DX, and costs less than a blackberry or iPhone on contract, so small companies can make savings and let their employees have cheap cell phones with cheap price plans, further saving costs.

I can see many obvious business uses for this device as a complementary tool - not one to replace the laptop/desktop model. I don't believe apple are suggesting that this is anything more than a toy for the corporate market place as it can be in a domestic setting. As an email reader, web browser and to run presentations on, it's a fantastic toy.

This thing has wireless network, 3G, blue tooth, it has USB and SD card adapters - what's dodgy about this level of input and output? Add to that a nice version of tomtom and the assisted GPS:

What more connectivity do you want? Maybe a cranial implant so it can run on electrical impulses from the brain.

If the 'pad has no ability to multitask, then care to explain how it runs it's own OS, alongside playing music in iTunes while reading a book? Do explain that one to me?

This needs an usb port without a card adapter. This needs to access users's files, movies, pictures from usb storage devices and must also write on them. That's one of the main use that people do of their netbooks. And also, it needed an isight from day 1 since people mainly buy netbooks for messaging purposes too.

What more connectivity do you want? Maybe a cranial implant so it can run on electrical impulses from the brain.

If the 'pad has no ability to multitask, then care to explain how it runs it's own OS, alongside playing music in iTunes while reading a book? Do explain that one to me?

I would like it to act as a USB host. I would like the ability to put files onto it directly from an external drive. I would like it to act as a portable external drive.

And WRT to multitasking, you are correct. The hardware is capable. The problem is not the hardware, or the iOS itself, but instead, Apple's policy of not allowing customers to get the most out of their devices.

Maybe I can try - the vision to be able to hold something in your hand that has a useful screen size which can easily be taken into meetings to make notes, to check email, to connect to a projector, to look up reference material and to have a working day battery life, while being light enough to be carried in your standard briefcase without having to lug around a second case for your laptop all day.

You just described a netbook or ultra-small laptop. Except that either of those can do all those things at once, instantly switching between them. Can you imagine taking notes while the boss speaks, and then wanting to instantly bring up a web page to illustrate a point? Bye bye note taking...

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkhm

The vision that all of this is costing only $10 more than a kindle DX, and costs less than a blackberry or iPhone on contract, so small companies can make savings and let their employees have cheap cell phones with cheap price plans, further saving costs.

The kindle DX is unsuited to business computer use. The iPad has no phone. Few businessman will want to carry around a big device AND a shitty cheap cellphone everywhere they go.

I see the device as a cool toy to surf the web while sitting on the ... couch. Except that without flash, it is a crummy way to surf the 'web.

Microsoft Office inside is what is needed. Compatible with Mac, of course. And starting with PowerPoint for presentations. The standard is PowerPoint, not Keynote, even being the former much better and intuitive that the latter. Those are the real facts!

For two frickin' YEARS I've seen you post the same thing over and over and over - Apple's tablet MUST have the ability to present NATIVE Keynote files and connect to a projector. It MUST.

Well, now it does, and all you can say is that it has to be PowerPoint. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND! Hey, question for you - do you recall which division of Apple is responsible for porting Office to the iPad?

This needs an usb port without a card adapter. This needs to access users's files, movies, pictures from usb storage devices and must also write on them. That's one of the main use that people do of their netbooks. And also, it needed an isight from day 1 since people mainly buy netbooks for messaging purposes too.

Why does it?

I haven't transferred a file using a USB port. Ever. I have a computer here with wireless networking built it. Why does it need a camera from day one. I don't care what people buy netbooks for, this isn't a netbook. That's a bit like saying that the 'pad needs ABS from day one, as all new cars have it. I'll say it again, just to try and get this point home. This isn't a netbook, it's not a laptop, it's not a desktop, it's not designed to replace workhorse computers.

You can listen to music while you read an ebook, you can browse the web, you can check your email and look at your family photos.

That's what this iteration of this device does, that's what it was designed to do.

The kindle dx doesn't have a camera either you know, or N networking, assisted GPS (shall I go on?). And the 'pad is only $10 more.

As far as the camera is concerned, I don't want people looking up my nose when I'm talking to them thank you very much. No doubt a good peripheral will turn up that will hold the 'pad at a good angle for video chat and introduce a camera to the equation.

What is great is that niche markets are already being catered for - I can take this out on the road and use the SD card adapter to transfer images from my Canon EOS, or plug the camera directly into it using the USB adapter. My existing blue tooth keyboard will work with it (should the need arise) With accessories and functionality like this in place before the device is even launched, the sky really is the limit (given a little imagination). But for serious work, well, that's what I've got a laptop and desktop for.

The 'Pad is a toy. It is not suited for heavy-duty use. I think that emphasizing business use is a huge mistake. I was very surprised when iWork was emphasized, given that the device has dodgy input and output, and no ability to multitask.

I set a Touch up for my father to give presentations (using movies and photos). It was much easier for him to operate the Touch than his MacBook. He just pugs it into a customer's TV rca jacks.

The iPad will be so much better for this. I'm getting him one as soon as they come out.

This needs an usb port without a card adapter. This needs to access users's files, movies, pictures from usb storage devices and must also write on them. That's one of the main use that people do of their netbooks. And also, it needed an isight from day 1 since people mainly buy netbooks for messaging purposes too.

Has it escaped your notice that this is not a netbook? Perhaps the lack of keyboard is a clue?

Interesting article. It doesn't have a camera (which you would expect if they were targeting it at kids/teenagers) but it does have iWork. Maybe they are sick of people treating their hard work as toys.

And WRT to multitasking, you are correct. The hardware is capable. The problem is not the hardware, or the iOS itself, but instead, Apple's policy of not allowing customers to get the most out of their devices.

I think by projecting your perceived shortcomings onto all of us in regards to what the iPhone OS can and can't do is where most of these arguments fail.

Maybe you don't get the most out of YOUR Apple devices, but I do, in which case I wonder why you or anyone else on here bashing Apple products continues to buy them. I am absolutely positive that there are other products that may fully meet all of your porn-watching needs (flash).

I do not fully understand how other smartphone OS's work but I have done some investigation into them, as any good consumer should. The way I understand, say Android's multitasking functionality, is that its not exactly all it is cracked up to be. Admittedly, from what I have seen, WebOS and their card system seems to work well, but I have not researched it fully to give an opinion.

"One who forms a judgement on any point but cannot explain it clearly, might as well never have thought at all on the subject." Pericles

My accomplishments and expertise are important only if you desire to employ an argument from authority, which is an unreliable method.

Why not consider the message, and not the messenger?

Have you ever thought about the MILLIONS of execs who currently have laptops who may better enjoy a Desktop and an iPad - or even those who have laptops and don't want to take them on long trips or home every night?

iPad offers;

1) Native access to email, contacts, calendar, browsing and Office suites
2) RDP client to 'base Computer' if need to access something on their iPad in the field that isn't supported
3) 140K Apps ( some are even considered productivity apps!)

Sounds like a good productivity tool -

And though a little left field but just for fun ;

No corporation in the world would risk letting their execs put games (shall we call them non-business related entertainment apps ?) on company laptops but really, it's absolutely not a problem on an iPad is it since it does not constitute a viral/spyware or security issue. It's probably worth $499 to stop them going nuts in hotel rooms with the mini-bar whilst away on business!

You just described a netbook or ultra-small laptop. Except that either of those can do all those things at once, instantly switching between them. Can you imagine taking notes while the boss speaks, and then wanting to instantly bring up a web page to illustrate a point? Bye bye note taking...

Nope, we're going to disagree on this point. YOu can instantly flick between applications - i watched this happen. I can do it on my iPHone, so why not the iPad - the other app is sat there, simply waiting as i'd left it. So yes - taking notes, switch to a web page, switch back. I did not describe a small laptop or netbook - those both do much more than the 'pad and also run a full operating system, which the 'pad does not. They also take three minutes to start up and have an average 2/3 hour battery life as they have a lot more to power than the 'pad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iGenius

The kindle DX is unsuited to business computer use. The iPad has no phone. Few businessman will want to carry around a big device AND a shitty cheap cellphone everywhere they go.

The iPad has no phone. That's correct. It also doesn't have a food processor. It's not a phone (or hadn't you noticed) Why on earth would you want to hold this up to your ear? LMAO.

This isn't a big device and nor is it heavy. Many businessmen currently carry around a laptop which does nothing all day except check email and also a phone - I can only see advantage for those users. No, it's not all users. The user who needs that laptop is already catered for. Hence the need for a new product category.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iGenius

I see the device as a cool toy to surf the web while sitting on the ... couch. Except that without flash, it is a crummy way to surf the 'web.

Yes, it is a cool toy to surf the web while sitting on the couch. And that is one of the big markets for this device. Another is for those who want something that will fit in their man bag and run presentations and take notes at work while checking email.

Open your mind.

re. Flash - Adobe need to hurry up and sort out their proprietary technology - that the flash plug-in on the Mac platform (windows also in my experience) is unstable and processor (not to mention battery life) hungry has nothing to do with Apple - go shout at Adobe. Although, I've had click to flash for a year now and don't miss a single piece of flash content, and enjoy a much more stable browsing experience.

Also as head of a large web and graphics consultancy, we don't create anything in flash as we prefer standards compliant, accessible, fast loading, stable work. Time to move forward, not get stuck in eight year old technology which has failed to keep up with the times.

1) As you could see in the keynote, presenters had a line-out from the iPad to the projector.

Har! They were "screen-syncing", and not presenting live. At one point (I think it was when the games guy was on) the big screen started turning before the guy had turned the device.

I was impressed that the other presenters seemed to get the timing down perfectly. He was the same guy who looked at the big screen during the demo, implying that the small screen was inferior. He needed more rehearsals.

And BTW, does anybody think that they were downloading webpages live? The whole of the internet slowed down during the presentation, but the web pages loaded as fast as pages from a cache. Yep.